BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Giacomo Raspadori of Italy celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s third goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)
Arrigo Sacchi warns Italy that no opponent should be underestimated in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and hopes players have understood that success ‘doesn’t come by divine grace.’
Italy will visit Estonia in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday and even if the Azzurri already beat them 5-0 last month, Sacchi feels that the gap between national teams has become thinner in recent years.
“In modern football, no one gives you anything for free. And the clear technical differences that once existed have disappeared,” the former coach wrote in his Gazzetta dello Sport column.
“Everything has levelled out, and it doesn’t matter whether this levelling is upwards or downwards. What matters is that the world’s great footballing powers, and I’m also thinking of Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Spain, England, and of course Italy, now have to deal with emerging football nations that can ruin your plans if you don’t put your heart into the game and give absolutely everything on the pitch.
“I consider Gattuso’s Italy as a team in progress, meaning that the coach has only recently taken charge and needs time to instil his ideas,” Sacchi continued.
Sacchi: Italy ‘not weak as some suggest’
“Some will say: there’s no time, qualification is all that matters. True. But I believe the technical and tactical direction Gattuso has started is positive and might lead us to the World Cup. This doesn’t mean Italy have suddenly become a powerhouse again after failing to qualify [for the World Cup] in 2018 and 2022, but I don’t think it’s a weak side as some would like to suggest.”
Gattuso beat Estonia (5-0) and Israel (5-4) in his first two games in charge of the Azzurri last month and will meet the same opponents in October.
“I very much appreciated the approach of the new coach, who made a point of putting moral values at the centre of the project,” wrote Sacchi.
Sacchi: Success has to be earned through hard work
“The Azzurri shirt has immense significance; the national team represents the whole nation, and it’s a heritage that must be defended. Gattuso was absolutely right to emphasise this to his players.
“Of course, Luciano Spalletti made some mistakes, as he himself admitted; perhaps he wasn’t able to get into the players’ heads, but I think the heart of the issue lies in general in the levelling of football. The Azzurri were eliminated by Switzerland, a team we would have beaten easily a few decades ago, when our technical quality was clearly superior. I just hope that Gattuso has made it clear to his players that success has to be earned through hard work and sweat, it doesn’t come by divine grace.”
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